Fourth update,

...

"Is it not yet time for the birthday celebration?"

Qin Fang was actually quite surprised and asked a question.

During the auction, he saw Tang Cheng and Ning Weiqiang looking quite anxious, and thought Old Master Tang's birthday must be very soon. But to think, almost a month had passed and Old Master Tang's birthday hadn't come yet.

"Of course not, there are still two months..."

Ning Yumo looked at Qin Fang with surprise but still casually responded.

Qin Fang only felt darkness before his eyes, thinking to himself that Tang and Ning, these two young masters, were really tricky. With three months until the birthday, they were already rushing for gifts as if it was urgent, making Qin Fang truly believe it was an emergency.

"How about this piece of calligraphy and painting?"

In terms of understanding ancient art and calligraphy, Ning Yumo's proficiency wasn't much different from Qin Fang's. In fact, they were both antiques novices, with merely Ning Yumo being more straightforward, while Qin Fang belonged to the pseudo-experts hidden among the novices.

"It is genuine after all, but..."

Qin Fang used his Appraisal Skill and determined it was a work from the late Qing dynasty made by someone unknown. Although the painting was decent, these two characteristics alone meant the painting's value couldn't be very high.

"As long as it's genuine, that's good enough!"

But to Qin Fang's surprise, Ning Yumo was direct. Pointing at that painting, she immediately asked Boss Zhao for the price.

"Twenty thousand, non-negotiable!"

No wonder they say antique shops thrive for three years just on their opening inventory. Such a painting, and Boss Zhao dared to quote twenty thousand, and even non-negotiable, truly outrageous.

"Twenty thousand then, I'll take it! Wrap it up for me..."

Ning Yumo was indeed straightforward. She liked the painting, and with Qin Fang confirming its authenticity, she wasn't very concerned about the price and directly took out her credit card to pay.

Qin Fang couldn't be of much help either. When it came to judging authenticity, he was reliable, but if you asked him about the price, sorry, he really didn't know.

"Looks like I have to gain a better understanding of the antique market from now on; otherwise, I'll really be fleeced..." While wandering around the shop, Qin Fang thought to himself.

It isn't easy to come across a hidden treasure. At least, Qin Fang hadn't seen any forgotten, dusty treasures. After appraising a piece of calligraphy that Chen Jiangnan was interested in, the group of three headed towards Bizarre Stone Archway. Speaking of which, Chen Jiangnan also had a slight interest in gambling on stone.

"Oh, isn't this the boss who made two consecutive gains from stone gambling last time? Are you picking rough stones again today? We just got a shipment of raw materials from Myanmar..."

As soon as Qin Fang and the others arrived at the entrance of Bizarre Stone Archway, an employee immediately recognized him. Although half a month had passed, Bizarre Stone Archway hadn't had many successful gambles recently, and the day Qin Fang gambled on stones was quite notable. Someone had unearthed a glass-type jade, and following that, Qin Fang succeeded twice… It was hard for people not to remember him.

It was precisely this employee's shout that drew the scattered customers' attention to Qin Fang. They immediately showed interest, and people gradually gathered around, including some who had watched the whole process last time. They immediately started discussing amongst themselves, asking each other questions.

Pi San and his group had followed them closely. It wasn't convenient for them to make a move while Qin Fang and others were at Yunzhuzhai, but Bizarre Stone Archway was crowded and chaotic, making it worse to act, yet also the easiest place to lose someone, so they had no choice but to blend into the crowd.

Upon hearing that Qin Fang had made over a million from a previous stone bet, the few of them couldn't help but become jealous, Pi San included.

"Brother, I'm going to pick rough stones, you got to take a look for me later..."

Although Chen Jiangnan was just joining in on the excitement, he didn't mind throwing a few tens of thousands just for the heck of it; it was just for fun and a way to keep company with Qin Fang.

"No, Brother Jiangnan! If it's about antiques, I might know a little, but gambling on stone is completely different. It's possible that not even one out of ten stones will reveal any green..."

There was no way Qin Fang could agree to such a request, and he immediately refused.

"Heh, don't overthink it, I was just saying. Don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously…" Chen Jiangnan laughed and knowing the nature of stone gambling, acknowledged that his request was indeed a bit excessive, and quickly rephrased.

"Then I'll also pick a stone, see how good my judgment is?"

Ning Yumo was not shy and followed Chen Jiangnan into the pile of rough stones to pick.

For Qin Fang, it was business as usual. He bypassed the half-gamble rough stones outright. To him, half-gamble rough stones were no different from the full-gamble ones. Rather than spending several times, even tens of times more on half-gamble rough stones, he preferred to pick directly from the full-gamble rough stones.

Considering he had to deal with Pi San and his people today, Qin Fang's focus was clearly not entirely on the rough stones. While selecting rough stones, he was also casting his Scouting Skill and keeping an eye on Pi San and his subordinates.

"There are a total of four people, one level three Pi San, a friend who is level two and two at level one. Relying on myself alone to take them on is clearly not doable; I must figure out a way to deal with them one by one..."

After a long observation, Qin Fang finally got a clear understanding of Pi San's men. The situation was quite serious, so he had to be extra cautious. Otherwise, it would be all too easy to capsize in a gutter.

It didn't take long for Chen Jiangnan and Ning Yumo to choose their stones, while Qin Fang was purely brushing up his Scouting Skill proficiency. Seeing that they had made their selections, Qin Fang also casually picked out five or six stones, all priced in the thousands. The total didn't even come to twenty thousand yuan, and among them, there was only one that contained any jade. As for whether he could break even in the end, Qin Fang actually didn't care in the least.

Looking at the stone Chen Jiangnan chose, unfortunately, it had nothing in it.

To Qin Fang's surprise, Ning Yumo's luck was really not too shabby. She actually picked out a stone that would reveal green. This truly made even Qin Fang unable to help but admire her luck.

"Let's go, let's get it cut..."

Ning Yumo was quite excited and immediately pulled Qin Fang to go get the stone cut. Qin Fang naturally couldn't refuse and followed along. Pi San and his people naturally wouldn't stay behind to pretend any longer, they also followed over.

Although Ning Yumo seemed very eager to know the results, she was worried that her stone might be ruined during the cutting, so she suggested that Qin Fang and Chen Jiangnan go first. Chen Jiangnan immediately volunteered and placed the stone he chose up for cutting.

"Sister Ning, I'm going to the restroom for a moment..."

As the cutting of Chen Jiangnan's stone started and everyone's attention was on the raw material, Qin Fang called out to Ning Yumo and then headed to the restroom of the Bizarre Stone Archway.

Considering that cutting stones can be quite mentally draining, some customers might stay for a longer duration, the Bizarre Stone Archway specially constructed several restrooms and resting rooms. Even though in reality, not many people actually used them...

This was something Qin Fang already knew from his last visit. Moreover, Qin Fang knew that there were no cameras here, so he didn't have to worry about his actions being discovered.

The crowd of onlookers were all focused on the uncut stones and paid no attention to Qin Fang, but Pi San and his companions were different. Before entering the resting area, Qin Fang noticed that Pi San had already sent someone to follow him. Facing away from Pi San and his people, a sinister smile flashed across Qin Fang's face.

The one who followed was one of the two at level one, a pretty young fellow. But from the look of him, it was clear he was the aggressive and fierce type. After entering the resting area, he headed straight for the restroom and started looking for Qin Fang, apparently planning to make a move right here.

"Are you looking for me?"

Qin Fang lightly patted the guy's shoulder, then said with a bright and cheerful smile.

The kid, hearing Qin Fang's voice, was briefly stunned. Then, without looking back, he threw a punch towards Qin Fang who was behind him.

His speed was fast, but someone else was faster!

Bang!!

The kid only felt a sudden heavy strike on his head, which instantly made his consciousness blur, and then he fell to the ground, dazed and unable to get up.

"What an idiot!"

Qin Fang slapped the steel pipe from the Sap Outfit in his hand and said with a proud smile. This guy probably didn't expect, even until he fainted, how Qin Fang, unarmed, suddenly came to have a steel pipe in hand.

Unfortunately for the guy, he didn't even see it coming before Qin Fang knocked him out.

Qin Fang wasn't polite about it. He directly took all the money from the guy's possession, removed his upper clothing, tearing it into strips of cloth, and tied him to the toilet in the restroom, beside piles of stinking excrement. His mouth was even disgustingly stuffed full by Qin Fang with a wad of toilet paper that had been used for wiping.

Fortunately, the guy had passed out. Otherwise, based on this alone, he probably wouldn't have been able to eat for months. Even Qin Fang himself felt quite nauseated.

After finishing all this, Qin Fang walked out of the resting room as if nothing had happened, then returned to the stone-cutting scene, without a scratch on him.

Pi San and his men were extremely surprised; Qin Fang, who was supposed to be severely injured or even killed, appeared to be completely fine, yet their companion was nowhere to be seen.

"Go check it out..."

Pi San's expression was cold and somber. He immediately signaled one of his minions with a gesture, and someone went inside to check. In just a short while, this minion came out pale-faced, ran to Pi San, and whispered in his ear.

"Damn it, cut the crap! You can't even handle this little thing..."

Pi San was instantly shocked upon hearing this and his eyes involuntarily glanced towards Qin Fang, noticing no anomalies, and that Qin Fang hadn't noticed their exchange, his heart somewhat relaxed.

Qin Fang didn't rush to leave, indicating he probably just thought that the minion had intended to rob him, without realizing that it was connected to a plot to assault him. This thus hadn't had much of an impact on their plan.

But was that really the case?

Clearly not... (To be continued. For updates, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available there and you can support the author and legitimate reading!)

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